January 21, 2014 — In addition to this week's NewsBreak(s), the editors have compiled the Weekly News Digest, featuring stories from the week just past that you should know about. Watch for additional coverage to appear in the next print issue of Information Today.

The White House announced the adoption of reforms for how the government collects intelligence information.

These reforms coincide with the release of “Presidential Policy Directive/PPD-28,” a blueprint for dealing with signals intelligence activities in the U.S. and internationally. It reports on new principles for intelligence collection and strengthens the executive branch’s monitoring of activities.

President Obama’s speech at the Department of Justice on Jan. 17 called for intelligence workers, including the National Security Agency/Central Security Service (NSA/CSS), to follow privacy protocols and maintain Americans’ trust. He spoke of “a path forward that we believe should give the American people greater confidence that their rights are being protected, while preserving important tools that keep us safe, and that address significant questions that have been raised overseas,” according to a press release from the White House Office of the Press Secretary.

Other reforms include updates to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (“plac[ing] additional restrictions on the government’s ability to retain, search, and use in criminal cases, communications between Americans and foreign citizens”) and the USA PATRIOT Act (continuing the collection of phone call metadata but “preserv[ing] the capabilities we need without the government holding the data”).